Korea Match Cup - Richard and Williams fight it out

by WMRT on 13 Jun 2010 Korea Match Cup, Stage 3 in the ISAF World Match Racing Tour (WMRT), concluded today with a victory to Mathieu Richard.

Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team is ‘King of Korea Match Cup’ after racing against the best pool of match racing skippers in the world and concluding Korea with a victory over double World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar.

Richard kept momentum at all times in the light airs up the concentrated course area which created a need for all the crew to use their bodyweight and drill the KM36 yachts into a series of smooth roll tacks and gybes to propel the Blakewell-White designed yachts round the race marks.

Richard is delighted to have won Korea Match Cup, two years previously he was watching the skippers in the final hoping to reach it himself one day, 'I have had a good feeling onboard since the beginning of the season and I am happy with the team'.

Williams has now been in the final at Korea Match Cup for the last 3 years since the inception of the Korean leg of the WMRT. Williams however has not yet won this Tour stage and is seen as ‘always the bridesmaid and never the bride’. He is however, in good spirits despite missing out on the biggest prize money and spoke about Richard’s style on the race course, 'Richard really nailed the starts today, every time he dominated the first exchange'.

The semis, sailed in the sheltered flat waters of Jeongok Port, saw Williams beat Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team and Richard taking a last minute lead over Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team followed by an instantaneous on the water request for redress due to interference from a boat on the course, redress was then denied.

The weekend crowd was entertained by a variety of outdoors performances with a rock band and creative percussion. A matter of seconds from the race circuit were peddle boats, kayaks, sailing dinghies and water bumper cars for the public to personally test out why Gyeonggi is such a successful marine location.

The World Match Racing Tour’s third Stage has changed the ISAF WMRT ranking. After 5 days of racing at Korea Match Cup Richard reigns at the top of the table with 65 points, Adam Minoprio (ETNZ) BlackMatch Racing also stays consistent with 39 points in second. Williams who is an unstoppable force is climbing the ladder from eighth place to third in one event and Mirsky moves up one position into fourth place, followed by Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra in fifth.

The prize giving ceremony for Korea Match Cup was flanked by thousands of locals and the charismatic Governor of Gyeonggi, Moon-Soo Kim, presented the Korea Match Cup awards totalling 300,000,000 KRW (USD $240,770). The prize money afforded to the 2010 Tour events is the main force that pulls the professional match racing trade’s elite players to annually participate in this top sporting series.

Dong Young Kim, Event Promoter, Korea Match Cup spoke about the importance of this World Series event to their national sport development, 'I am really impressed and it feels great to see that the status of the Korea Match Cup and recognition of Korean yachting is on the rise throughout the world. The long term goal for Korea Match Cup is that it will attract further sports and provide an opportunity for the Korean marine sports industry to develop further.'

The next Tour event will be Stage 4, in Portimão, for Portugal Match Cup running 22 – 27 June.

Day 5 - Overall Standings
1Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team25 Points
2Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar20 Points
3Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team15 Points
4Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team12 Points
5Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing10 Points
6Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra8 Points
7Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing6 Points
8Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team4 Points
9Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team
10Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Italia
11Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing Team
12Park GunWoo (KOR) Busan Match


2010 ISAF World Match Racing Tour Standings
(After Event 3 of 10)

1Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team65 Points
2Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch Racing39 Points
3Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar30 Points
4Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team28 Points
5Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra23 Points
6Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN20 Points
-Jesper Radich (SWE) Radich Racing Team20 Points
8Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing18 Points
9Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Italia16 Points
10Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team 15 Points

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